Vortex Viper 4-12x40 Scope Review By Troy Adams

[majestrate98]

I have been scoped twice over the many years of hunting and will order the HS long rifle scope tomorrow. Thanks again for your help.

Have your received the scope and mounted it yet? I'm curious what your opinion is now. I'm considering getting the Viper HS LR for my 340 WBY. I'd like to know how it holds up under that level of recoil.

 

[stvnbrg]

Fantastic scope for the money!

 

[Shootin4fun]

Me and the gun smith tried everything to get good grouping with my 26" barreled AR-15 (5-6" at 100 yds)...... but everything seemed to fail. SO, two days ago we threw a Nikon Monarch on, (for testing) and now I have 1/2 " grouping at 100 yds, and 1 - 1 1/4 at 200 yds.

Don't mean to hijack or divert this thread, but on various forums I hear people claim they get .5MOA (or better) accuracy out of their ARs. They don't mention handloading, and few people I see ever handload for their .223/5.56 AR or Minis ('cept me).

My question is, if .5 MOA is attainable in an AR with factory ammo, (aside from caliber choices) why are we all shooting bolt actions with various stock/scope/ barrel configs and handloading to find the right accuracy node?

I have never seen an AR or Mini 14 hold consistent groups of .5 MOA, so I'm wondering if all my experiences are just too limited in that domain. The best my mini does is 4/5 in .7", and always a flier a few inches away @ 100.

Can ARs really be made to shoot .5 MOA and under? A super accurate AR in .243 Win, AI or WSSM would be the bomb!

Back to scopes...Yes I have a Monarch 4-16 x 42 SF, and love it. It holds a zero fine and the BDC system works great with their caluclator & custom loads! Now considering a Vortex PA with bdc for a change.

 

[rdsii64]

Don't mean to hijack or divert this thread, but on various forums I hear people claim they get .5MOA (or better) accuracy out of their ARs. They don't mention handloading, and few people I see ever handload for their .223/5.56 AR or Minis ('cept me).

My question is, if .5 MOA is attainable in an AR with factory ammo, (aside from caliber choices) why are we all shooting bolt actions with various stock/scope/ barrel configs and handloading to find the right accuracy node?

I have never seen an AR or Mini 14 hold consistent groups of .5 MOA, so I'm wondering if all my experiences are just too limited in that domain. The best my mini does is 4/5 in .7", and always a flier a few inches away @ 100.

Can ARs really be made to shoot .5 MOA and under? A super accurate AR in .243 Win, AI or WSSM would be the bomb!

Back to scopes...Yes I have a Monarch 4-16 x 42 SF, and love it. It holds a zero fine and the BDC system works great with their caluclator & custom loads! Now considering a Vortex PA with bdc for a change.

Not long ago, your statements about the accuracy of AR15's would be correct. Today's AR 15 is a different animal. People put long barrels on them and shoot up dog towns with them from as far away as the shooter has the skill. My Rock River Arms has a 3/4 MOA accuracy guarantee with factory match ammo. 1/2 moa with hand loads isn't that big of a stretch. As far as why we are still shooting bolt guns, 1st, why not. 2nd, a bolt gun has a stronger action. If the calibers are the same, a bolt gun will usually be able to handle a hotter round than an AR.

 

[Shootin4fun]

Again, not to hijack this thread...

Good answers rdi...Its what I suspected. In fact I have a Browning BAR in .270, and the thing that makes it not as accurate as my bolt guns is the feel of the trigger, not the action...or at least that's what I've come to believe, since I can put 3 in the same hole, and a 4th is usually within 1" of the other 3...I think its the shooter / trigger interface, and on this gun I'm told it cannot be modified. Having said that, even in the AR article they talk about how the ARs are usually set up with a significantly higher force requirement to let it fly, which in itself makes shooting accurately more difficult. Few people with bolts set them at 5+ lbs.

 

[Shootin4fun]

Back to the Vortex....Anyone have an opinion regarding the Viper series vs. Nikon Monarchs... in particular the Viper 4-12x40 PA vs. the Monarch 3-12x 42 SF?

Or Viper 6.5-20x44 PA vs the Monarch 5-20x44 SF?

Anyone have a feel of how the Viper PA, Viper PST, Viper HS, compare with the various lines of Monarchs?

 

[chucknbach]

Back to the Vortex....Anyone have an opinion regarding the Viper series vs. Nikon Monarchs... in particular the Viper 4-12x40 PA vs. the Monarch 3-12x 42 SF?

Or Viper 6.5-20x44 PA vs the Monarch 5-20x44 SF?

Anyone have a feel of how the Viper PA, Viper PST, Viper HS, compare with the various lines of Monarchs?

I'll let you know. I just replaced my Monarch 4-16 with a Vortex 4x16 hs lr.

 

[Shootin4fun]

I'll let you know. I just replaced my Monarch 4-16 with a Vortex 4x16 hs lr.

Yea, it would be interesting to hear your take on both the optics and the turret features. Nikon's optics seem very good to me, BDC can be useful and for a hundred $ you can get tactical turrets.
But I like the Vortex zero reset feature for the turrets and windage reticle markings in their BDC. I don't know about their optics.

 

[vilsi]

I'd like to put my two cents in on the Vortex scopes. Had my eye on a 6.5x20x40 and ordered it from Midway. Midway E-mailed me and told me that they were on back order. I think the what was about 3 months and I cancelled the order. Checked with Optics Plan, they were on the back order too. Ran thru everybody. Called Vortex and got a very nice lady that told me they were having trouble keeping up with the orders. More then one dealer told me they were the hottist scope on the market. Any way after talking with Vortex, Kinda figured out it really wasen't the scope I neeeded for what I was going to use it for. My sweet wife put a Vortex 8x32x50 crossfire under the tree for me. She's a keeper. Have 72 rounds down the barrel of my new Savage modal 12 F T/R. Breaking it in very slowly. Its as bright and clear as any of the scope snobs scopes and and i give it an A maybe a A+ It is a little dim around 30-32 Power. liked it so much that I tryied to order another one. Vortex has stopped making the scope . I think you will see this scope back, But a much higher price.
Take a kid and a Vet shooting
Randy

 

[chucknbach]

Yea, it would be interesting to hear your take on both the optics and the turret features. Nikon's optics seem very good to me, BDC can be useful and for a hundred $ you can get tactical turrets.
But I like the Vortex zero reset feature for the turrets and windage reticle markings in their BDC. I don't know about their optics.

3 things I can tell you now that the Vortex has over the Monarch.

1. The Vortex has more internal adjustment 70moa vs 40moa

2. The Vortex comes with Target turrets the Monarch doesn't

3. The eye relief on the Vortex is very good. Seems like I can put my head anywhere on the stock and get a sight picture. A Little better than the Monarch.

It's hard to beat Nikons BDC reticule though.

The glass? I don't know yet. Can't form an opinion just by looking through it in the store and shouldering a few times in the house. Keep in mind though we are comparing a 30mm tube & 44mm objective vs a 1"tube & 42mm objective.

Price? I think I spent $370 on the Monarch about 5 years ago ($400 now) and $550 for the Vortex.

The Monarch for $400 + $100 for the turrets. For $50 more the Vortex so far is the better buy if your wanting to dial. I'll say that even if it turns out the glass is a little better on the Monarch.

 

[chucknbach]

As you can see you can still dial the Monarch if you have your reading glasses handy.

I might also add that the Vortex comes with a sun shade as well.

Right now I'm just killing time till my son wakes up so we can go zero this thing in.

 

[Shootin4fun]

Thanks for your input and pictures chuck. All of your points are spot on (no pun intended) and well considered.

You also got me to take another look at my Monarch 4-16 turret arrangement. I've been so absorbed in developing and testing loads for accuracy and testing the whole BDC system that I didn't pay much attention to the turret options. My main concern has been that my 200 yard zero was not zero on the turret so I always had to remember my reference point, meaning I had to count click while rotating.

So yesterday I RTFMd (read the manual) and realized I could unscrew the cap and replace it with the zero at the pointer. Duh! Then I dialed up large MOA adjustments and realized that the numbered horizontal lines on the turret body represent number of turret revolutions, each rev being 12 MOA. Now I can dial large displacements without even looking at the turret until I know I'm close, then look at the numbers.

Having said that, yes the lift and twist of the Vortex is easier because it doesn't require a coin to reset the zero. The target turret is very nice. CRZ stop on some models is great because you don't even have to look at it to return to zero.

However, I'm kinda leaning towards Nikon because of the mag range and price points, given that the optics are comparable. 5-20x44 is ideal because this is going on a 7mmRM and I want to eventually reach out to 1K yards, yet not start over 5 on the low end. Plus, I have been using the BDC for a few years now on a lighter caliber (you're right - hard to beat) so maybe I'll be unconsciously fooled into not expecting the recoil of the 7. I hope the converse doesn't happen!

I should start a new thread: What's your preferred magnfication value for 1000 yards?

Yea, I need my reading glasses regardless of whose turret I'm looking at!

 

[chucknbach]

Watch out for the Nikons as they don't have globs of adjustment. I also have a 6x24 50mm Monarch on my .243 it will only get me out to 750yd with the whooping 35MOA total adjustment.

So far the Vortex wins out as it's still on my rifle and the Monarch on my son's.

 

[Swamplord]

I just bought me a Vortex PST 4-16x50 riflescope and a Vortex Viper HD 8x42 bino, have no experience with a Nikon scope, but have had a Nikon Monarch 8x56 bino for a number of years, it was my go to optic for late evening moose calling, the area I hunt has antler size restrictions and bright clear optics are a must for judging antlers... the Nikon performed flawlessly ! have been comparing the Viper HD's side by side this past week since the moose season started and can say they give nothing up to the Nikons, it's been raining most of the time and the evening hunts are murky and gets dark really quick, so far the Vipers have me sold, I can see better through the optics after my eyes fail me and I have good vision. obviously I need more time on the Vortex Viper HD binos, so far though I am pleased with my choice...
as for the Viper PST it's still in the box, waiting for a stock for my 338 Norma Mag built on a Sako TRG-s, probably won't be completed for this years hunt, the scope on my 338 Edge I'm hunting with is phenomenal in low light and don't see a reason to pull it and throw the Vortex on